Written by

KENT, OHIO — If Ball State is going to make something special out of the 2012 football season, one of two things likely will have to happen during the final seven games of the season.

One, the Cardinals’ defense will have to find a way to become something more than a slipshod outfit that can’t be trusted in a do-or-die situation.

Or two, Ball State’s high-powered offense will have to score 40 points per game and cross its fingers that it’s enough to win.

It wasn’t Saturday.

The Cardinals unleashed their second-highest yardage total on offense (557) in the past 64 games at Dix Stadium. But that couldn’t produce a win as the defense allowed an opponent to come back for the third straight game.

Kent State drove 86 yards on the Ball State defense in the final two minutes to set up a field goal with six seconds to go, sending the Cardinals to a 45-43 loss.

“It’s disappointing,” Cardinals coach Pete Lembo said. “... some of our best guys didn’t play their best today, and I have to get them ready to do that every week. As ugly as it was, we still had a chance at the end.”

There was plenty of ugliness throughout the game across all of Ball State’s units.

The Cardinals (3-2, 1-1 Mid-American Conference West) started the game by driving to the Kent State 1-yard line, but quarterback Keith Wenning fumbled on a third-down handoff and Kent State recovered.

Special teams gave up 212 yards on six Kent State (3-1, 2-0 MAC East) kickoff returns, including a 99-yard touchdown by Dri Archer in the second quarter. Cardinals placekicker Steven Schott missed an extra point and a 51-yard field goal attempt.

But most of the lowlights were relegated to the Ball State defense.

The unit entered the game ranked 12th in the Mid-American Conference in pass defense and total defense and did nothing to improve its standing.

Kent State completed only 16-of-32 passes but averaged 18.4 yards per completion. The Golden Flashes added 166 yards on the ground for a total of 461 yards.

More than that, it was key plays the Cardinals failed to make that carved their destiny. In Kent’s game-winning drive, it converted two third-and-10s and a fourth-and-10 into first downs. That helped set up Freddy Cortez’s winning 25-yard field goal with six seconds left in the game.

“We just have to stay the course and keep working at it,” Lembo said of the defense. “We had some busts today, and that’s hard to explain.”

But easy to see because of the big plays the broken coverages yielded.

The Flashes scored on a 23-yard pass when Ball State safety Brian Davis didn’t get enough help from a cornerback. They hit a 28-yard TD throw as cornerback Jeff Garrett got beat off the line. Kent State scored on a 33-yard toss as safety Chris Pauling used what Lembo labeled “poor leverage” in man coverage.

Cardinals receiver Willie Snead said his teammates on defense have to have confidence to make plays.

“You can’t do it twice in the beginning, not do it in the third quarter, then do it two more times in the fourth quarter,” said Snead, who set career highs with 14 catches for 216 yards. “You have to do it consistently. If we can do that on the defensive side of the ball, we’re going to be a really good team.

“It’s just doing their job. One guy can loaf in the back end, and then if everybody else does their job ... it’s going to get exposed. We got exposed a couple times on a corner route. We can’t do that. You can’t give up points like that.”

Despite the failings, Ball State appeared it might pull out something of an improbable win.

A pass by Kent State quarterback Spencer Keith was batted in the air and Cardinals defensive tackle Brandon Newman intercepted at the Flashes’ 21-yard line with 6:01 left in the game.

Ball State capitalized quickly. Kent interfered with Snead in the end zone on the first play of the possession, giving Ball State the ball at the 6-yard line. Wenning then passed six yards to Connor Ryan for a touchdown, and Schott’s PAT kick put the Cardinals on top 43-42 with 5:38 to play.

Wenning’s TD pass was his fifth, tying the school record for a single game. He finished with 445 yards, second most in school history.

Ball State’s defense responded with a three and out to force a punt. But the offense couldn’t extend a drive and had to give up the ball on a punt with 2:05 remaining.

This time, the Cardinals’ defense couldn’t stop Kent State. The Golden Flashes moved from their 10 to a first down at the Ball State 5. Two snaps ran the clock down, and Cortez kicked his game-winner.

“There’s no magic answer,” Lembo said. “What I told (the defense) afterward was everybody has to look inside and reflect on the job they did and what they could have done better. ... As ugly as it was, we were one play away from sneaking out of here with a win.”